Peace is a problematic concept. Yes, it's great. But it's subjective. One guy's peace is another guy's oppression, even "colonial oppression." What does it mean? How is it achieved or obtained? The Roman Temple of Peace [Templum Paci] was a monument to the Roman victory over the Jews in the year 70 CE, when the Second Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman legions and their various auxiliary forces, including Arabs. The so-called Temple of Peace became the depository for most of the more visually interesting loot. On the Brandenburg Gate overlooking main streets in Berlin was a statue of the Goddess of Peace, and few would accuse the Germans as a people of being excessively peaceful. Indeed, the statue was probably put there by Kaiser Wilhelm's government, that continued the warlike empire-building of the Prussian tradition. Ought we to add that the Arab-Muslim culture, based on Islam, is warlike, that the Arabs generally believe in war as a positive principle? Islam mandates war [jihad] on parts of the world ruled by unbelievers [infidels = kufar] until the whole world is ruled by Islam. Indeed, in Iraq Sunni Arab Muslims are slaughtering Shi`ite Arab Muslims, whereas in Algeria, Sunni Arabs have slaughtered up to 150,000 fellow Sunni Arabs since 1991 whose Islam was not deemed sufficiently pure. Yet, President Bush calls Islam "a religion of peace."

Irrational cults that modern man believed had practically vanished from the earth, believing himself and his fellows rational, are now in resurgence. Mass slaughter is actually accepted and "understood" or rationalized by political and moral fools in all three worlds that fashionable 1950s and 1960s sociology, political science, and journalism had divided the world into. Yet, there is a true worldwide proliferation or globalization of foolish and/or hideous pro-mass murder political sects. From Manhattan to Mecca to Moscow the bloodthirsty [practicing or vicarious] caterwaul to each other like cats in heat, as a pack of pro-"civil liberties," pro-"peace" zombies in New York throng at the courthouse, defending the right of terrorist attorney Lynne Stewart to pass messages of terrorism incitement to comrades of the jailed blind sheik, `Umar Abdul-Rahman, previously involved in the assassination of Sadat, anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan, the assassination of Rabbi Me'ir Kahane, and the first Twin Towers bombing in 1993. A French weekly reported that `Abdul-Rahman issued a ruling in Muslim law, a fatwa, allowing Muslims to slaughter fellow Muslims deemed insufficiently Islamic. But peace and civil liberties must be served.

Meanwhile, self-styled peace movements provide pretexts for war while the so-called intellectuals are just as stupefied, in the main, as they were while World War Two was approaching. However, at least one published author did notice some of what was happening. Marco Santagata, a prize-winning Italian novelist, told the award ceremony:

Today, we are witnessing the resurgence of mentalities and ideologies that we believed to have been overcome. I am thinking about the wars of religion. We believed that Enlightenment rationality had definitively foreclosed certain phenomena. Yet, on the other hand. . . [at the 2003 Premio Campiello ceremony in Venice,La Repubblica, 9-14-2003]

The award ceremony organizers, in order to express a wish for peace ["to send a message of peace to the world"], maybe deceiving even themselves, invited Israeli novelist Me'ir Shalev and Arab "palestinian" poet, Ahmed Dahbour, to be interviewed on stage. The illusions of the late 1930s are alive again, alive and well and kicking us hard.

Meanwhile, against the backdrop of barbarian bloodshed, leaders of the superpowers have been meeting, ostensibly for the sake of peace. An American editor puckishly observed:

Barely a week from now, moreover, the two great leaders of the two great super powers, Mr Gorbachov and Mr Reagan, will meet at a summit to lift the hopes of the world's five billion souls for peace, prosperity, and only small nuclear wars.[Alan Abelson, editor of Barron's Weekly, 11-30-1987]

The crack about "only small nuclear wars" seems to be moving towards fulfillment, as the governments of the civilized lands of the advanced progressive West, the USA and the EU, plus China and Gorbachov's successor, Vladimir Putin, tyrannical Autocrat of Russia, facilitate acquisition of advanced weapons, nuclear materials, and attainment of a nuclear bomb by the Islamic fanatics of Iran. Yes, Virginia, Uncle Sam too is helping --indeed offering assistance to-- Iran to obtain weapons and the Bomb. How prophetic Alan Abelson was in 1987!!- - - - - - - - - -Coming: more on peace and its absurdities, war as peace, etc., plus Jews in Jerusalem and Hebron, and so on. Keep in touch.

About

The world swims in lies. Who doesn't know that? Even the dupes are told there are lies about. We aim to dispel the fog of lies, especially about Israel, like our prophets of old and our poets like Yehudah haLevi.
We feature historic sources, documents, excerpts from the classics, etc.
How shall I render my vows and my bonds, While yet
Zion lieth beneath the fetter of Edom, and I in Arab chains?
The false prophets cry Peace, and there is no peace.
A new post every 2 or 3 days.

About Me

צלום דבורה בת יהודה לייב ז''ל
Dvoyreh bas Yehudah Leyb, Eliyahu's mother. My own photo will have to await more peaceful times.
I have been an observer of
the human comedy, and the human tragedy for many years.